Is This Journalism? Enquirer Tracks John Edwards, Alleging They've Caught Him in Secret Mistress/Love Child Meeting

by PEP | July 22, 2008 at 06:20 pm

928 views | 29 Recommendations | 18 comments

Update: The Wonkette has weighed in on this story:

"The important question is not “Why is John Edwards cheating on his wife who had cancer?” We know that answer: He’s a Democratic politician. They have affairs with ladies. The important question is “Why do we have to hear about this again now?”

The answer is “Because a tabloid caught him with the mistress and the baby at a hotel!” A love child? Jesus! Bill Clinton must feel a million years old tonight. Joe Klein, too."

Original story follows.

As Sen. John Edwards continues to be floated as a possible VP candidate with Sen. Barack Obama, the National Enquirer continues its ongoing campaign to out what the publication says is Edwards' secret mistress and love child. Edwards, a married senator whose wife is battling cancer, has previously denied all allegations--but now the Enquirer says it has surveillance proof.

Question--is this journalism? Is this stalking? If Edwards does have an extra-marital relationship, is it relevant and if so, how? What do you think about the ambush technique the National Enquirer reporters and photographers used?

ice Presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards was caught visiting his mistress and secret love child at 2:40 this morning in a Los Angeles hotel by the NATIONAL ENQUIRER.

The married ex-senator from North Carolina - whose wife Elizabeth continues to battle cancer -- met with his mistress, blonde divorcée Rielle Hunter, at the Beverly Hilton on Monday night, July 21 - and the NATIONAL ENQUIRER was there! He didn't leave until early the next morning.

Rielle had driven to Los Angeles from Santa Barbara with a male friend for the rendezvous with Edwards. The former senator attended a press event Monday afternoon with L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on the topic of how to combat homelessness.

But a months-long NATIONAL ENQUIRER investigation had yielded information that Rielle and Edwards, 54, had arranged to secretly meet afterward and for the ex-senator to spend some time with both his mistress and the love child who he refuses to publicly acknowledge as his own.

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Edmund Jenks

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 20:09 on July 22nd, 2008

PEP, I like this story. It's good stuff.

PEP

at 05:17 on July 23rd, 2008

Hi Ed, thanks for the read and the flag. Remember the Monkey Business and Gary Hart? ;}

Edmund Jenks

at 20:10 on July 22nd, 2008

Typical journalism of the day.

Sanjay Jha

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 20:13 on July 22nd, 2008

PEP, I like this story. It's good stuff. You raised a very pertinent point. But what else do you expect from Enquirer, Cheers

PEP

at 05:12 on July 23rd, 2008

Thanks for the read and the flag, Sanjay. A question for you--do you think this is journalism? Do you think this is a story that needed to be covered (by anyone) -- especially with the VP selection process for Obama ongoing?

Rhonda J Mangus

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 20:17 on July 22nd, 2008

PEP, I like this story. It's good stuff.

PEP

at 05:13 on July 23rd, 2008

Thanks, Rhonda. Somehow it sickens me to think of a woman dying of breast cancer, struggling to go on the campaign trail to support her husband, and then that husband acting like this.

Hendricks_NY

at 21:17 on July 22nd, 2008

The Enquirer gets this kind of thing right every so often. They were the ones who broke the story on Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. People scoffed at the time when that story came out. Feel free to Google "OJ Simpson and National Enquirer" if you need other examples.

Hendricks_NY

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 20:40 on July 22nd, 2008

PEP, I like this story. It's good stuff.

Barry ORegan

at 21:16 on July 22nd, 2008

What, you mean what the Enquirer prints isn't the Gods Awful Truth? I know some Ladies in Tight Bingo Stretch Pants down at the Local Laundromat who beg to differ! Somewhere out there this evening, Bat Boy is crying.

Hendricks_NY

at 21:25 on July 22nd, 2008

Oh yeah, the other one was Jesse Jackson's love child. How could I have forgotten that. Those Enquirer guys want to be journalists so bad that they are willing to go out and do the work real "journalists" won't do, gross or not. I mean really, who wants to think about John Edwards and this lady in flagrante delicto with John combing his silky mane the entire time?

PEP

at 05:16 on July 23rd, 2008

Thanks for the comments, read, and flag. Edwards' actions disgust me.

I'm sick of politicians thinking that as soon as they get a little bit of successs they are free to graze on the available herd of any nearby women. ;}

Uwe Paschen

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 21:27 on July 22nd, 2008

PEP, I like this story. It's good stuff.

It would not be the sort of Journalism I am supporting nor favour! Yet even here we can find it on NP!

Caoimhin1

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 23:19 on July 22nd, 2008

PEP, I like this story. It's good stuff.

PEP

at 05:19 on July 23rd, 2008

Because the spam/CAPTCHA filter is blocking me from every single comment that I try to make, I'm going to now say "thanks" to mettacara, paschen, cao, and zichi all at once. I appreciate you so much!

Dennis D (not verified)

at 05:45 on July 23rd, 2008

Was it " Journalism" when the NY Times did it to McCain with the Lobbyist story?

Uwe Paschen

at 05:46 on July 23rd, 2008

I am having the same problem as you do PEP!

not sure (not verified)

at 11:55 on July 25th, 2008

Democratic politicians have affairs w/ ladies...as opposed to what? Republican politicians who have hire prostitutes or have affairs w/ men or go after young boys?

the fact that Democratic politicians find ladies who want to sleep w/ them versus sleezy repuglicans who have all kinds of sick fetishes ought to tell something